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Portugal and Spain are once more recovering from widespread inundation following Tempest Claudia unleashed torrential downpours and strong winds the previous week.

Claudia's Formation and Trajectory

This meteorological event formed from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had beforehand ushered in early season cold and snowy conditions through eastern parts of Canada and the north-eastern United States in early November.

This storm moved eastward across the Atlantic during the second weekend of November before decelerating and halting to the north-west of the Iberian peninsula, trapped within a trough of an progressively more wavy jet stream.

Impact on Iberia

Galicia in north-west Spain was hit first, with three to six inches of rain falling along its Atlantic coast in just 24 hours up to Wednesday night as a slow-moving band of rain crawled across the western areas of the region.

Further showers and thunderstorms on the following Thursday led to floods to parts of Portugal where an older couple perished in the city of Lisbon after rising waters from the bursting Tagus River entered their home as they were asleep.

Unsettled atmospheric states lasted through the weekend, with a violent whirlwind ripping through a camping ground and a close-by inn in Albufeira in the south in the Algarve region on Saturday last week, claiming the life of an 85-year-old British woman and wounding 28 people.

Broader Impacts across Europe

This system triggered broader repercussions across western Europe. By pulling tropical air from the subtropics, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in France's south-west to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the state's maximum ever late autumn reading.

By the following Friday, this warm and humid air mass clashed with a frigid air system across the northern regions of the continent, forming a band of rain running from Ireland's west to the Russian Federation.

In the Britain, this halting system of rain brought very high rainfall totals, resulting in significant waterlogging in the Welsh region.

As this weather phenomenon progressively weakens in the coming days, the chilly atmospheric system will move towards the south, delivering to Europe its initial glimpse of the winter season.

Related Incidents in California

California experienced an "atmospheric river" last week, delivering intense precipitation and strong winds that led to flash flooding and mudslides in areas affected by forest fires previously in the year.

Over two inches of rain was recorded in southern California on the week's end, with a another 50 millimetres widely across the state on the subsequent Saturday.

More than 100mm of rain accumulated over coastal areas of Southern CA in total, hitting 200mm overall in areas of elevated terrain.

Such a weather system is a narrow band of warm, moist air originating from the tropics or subtropics.

Burn scar areas including the Pacific Palisades area and the town of Altadena endured the most severe the rapid inundations and mudslides, prompting evacuations.

Across California, a elderly male died after his automobile was carried away from a submerged bridge, and a seven-year-old girl and her dad were dragged into the ocean by powerful waves on the the state's central shoreline.